Mara and Icarus continued marching through Bronze Grasslands when they stumbled upon a campsite which appeared to be in ruin. The two decided to check it out, and they were horrified by what they saw. The tents were tattered, and a few bounty hunters were lying on the ground motionless, except for one who was barely clinging to life.

"Are you two heroes?" the bounty hunter asked, coughing in pain.

"Yes," Mara answered with sorry eyes. "What happened here?"

"We were attacked...by a powerful dark wizard," the bounty hunter stammered, trying to catch his breath. "She came... out of nowhere."

"What did she look like?" asked Icarus.

"She had purple pigtails...and wore black clothes," the bounty hunter whimpered. Mara and Icarus glanced at each other for a brief moment with worry in each of their eyes and turned back to the nearly lifeless bounty hunter.

"What was her name?" asked Mara.

"Ivy Marshall," he whispered.

Mara's heart skipped a beat as she remembered seeing Ivy's face on a wanted poster and hearing about all the crimes she'd committed on the news.

"Be careful," the bounty hunter continued, "she's... incredibly... powerful." These last few words escaped his mouth as he drew his final breath. Mara lay the lifeless body gently on the ground and stood up. Tears began to form as she began to clench her fists.

"What are you going to do?" asked Icarus.

Mara tilted her head and glared above the horizon. "I'm going to avenge them," she stated, "every innocent life she's taken."

Icarus stood up and put his hand on Mara's shoulder. "Let's both avenge them," he chanted with a grin.

The two continued through Bronze Grasslands until they stopped at a small pool of water. They both agreed to take a break and clear their minds. They also leaned by the side of the pool to wash their faces.

Purple pigtails and black clothes, huh? Mara thought as she reflected on the bounty hunter's dying words. The sooner we find this criminal, the sooner we get rid of her.

"There's so much open space here!" jeered an impatient Icarus. "How are we supposed to track down this dark wizard?"

"Right behind you," a mysterious voice chanted. Mara and Icarus turned to a tree near the pool and noticed a tall figure standing among the branches and leaves. She had purple pigtails and wore black clothes, as described by the bounty hunter before.

The mysterious woman cackled as Mara and Icarus stood and watched in horror. "My, oh my," she began, "you two are an interesting pair."

"You must be Ivy Marshall!" Mara exclaimed with an angered expression. "I know about the crimes you've committed here."

"You really have done your homework," Ivy stated. "It's a shame that you never actually put your skills to good use."

"You take that back!" yelled Icarus. "Have you no shame in what you've done?"

"Oh, Icarus," Ivy chuckled, "I see you are still breaking women's hearts."

"How do you know him?" Mara asked in confusion.

"Don't you know?" answered Ivy. "Icarus and I used to date. We were such lovebirds at the time. We did nearly everything together"

"Is this true?" Mara asked in horror. Icarus gave no answer. Instead, he stood with his head low and his fists clenched.

"We were inseparable," Ivy continued, "until he became a Magic Council scout."

"Silence, you wench!" Icarus yelled with tears in his eyes. "I had to protect myself. I couldn't just live a short life as a villain!"

"And in a way, you did," Ivy chuckled. She then turned to Mara and noticed the armor she was wearing. "That armor," she gasped. "You're a Castlian, as well."

"Y-You don't know that!" Mara stammered with her arms crossed.

"That armor was designed by a Castlian," Ivy commented. "Only a Castlian may wear armor like that."

"What?!" Icarus shouted in surprise. "She's a Castlian?!"

"Why don't you ditch this buffoon?" Ivy jeered. "Join me, sister, and we will rule our own Castlian empire."

"I can't," Mara cried, "not after all the innocent lives you've taken!"

"Then you'll die like the rest!" Ivy chanted as she jumped from the tree and casted her Noxious Burst. The heroes jumped out of the way, avoiding the blasts. They both started casting their magic at the nimble dark wizard who dodged the attacks by jumping over them. One of Mara's Aqua Shot spells landed on Ivy's face, and she nearly stumbled backwards.

"You're quick" Ivy confirmed, "but are you quick enough for this?"

Ivy casted her Festering Arrow, which Mara was able to dodge. The three continued fighting, each dodging the other's attacks. Both sides seemed to be relentless, until Icarus casted his Blazing Bolt and set Ivy's hair on fire. Mara followed up with her Tidal Tempest, leaving Ivy completely soaked.

"You're a lot tougher than you look!" Ivy jeered. "I'll let you two live for now, but the next time we meet will be your last." She leaped over the heroes and escaped into Whispering Forest.

"You used to date a criminal?!" Mara yelled as she took time to process what Ivy said.

"I was a renegade!" Icarus bellowed in response. "I didn't know what to do with my life, and what about you? You never told me you were a Castlian!"

"I thought that didn't matter!" Mara screamed.

"Well, it does to me!" roared Icarus. "I can't believe I trusted someone like you!"

"But Icarus..." Mara started but was interrupted by Icarus's final outburst.

"Don't talk to me ever again!" Icarus shouted as he stormed off into the forest.

Mara stood alone with her head down until she started dragging her feet into the forest and branched off into her own direction. Meanwhile, the Silent Tower had yet to prepare for a nasty surprise.